Avestan alphabet

Avestan
Script type	Alphabet
Time period	400–1000 CE
Direction	Right-to-left script
Languages	Avestan language, Middle Persian
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian hieroglyphs[1] Proto-Sinaitic Phoenician alphabet Aramaic alphabet Pahlavi script Avestan
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Avst (134), ​Avestan
Unicode
Unicode alias	Avestan
Unicode range	U+10B00–U+10B3F
This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

This article contains Avestan characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Avestan characters.

The Avestan alphabet (Avestan: 𐬛𐬍𐬥 𐬛𐬀𐬠𐬌𐬭𐬫𐬵 transliteration: dīn dabiryªh, Middle Persian: transliteration: dyn' dpywryh, transcription: dēn dēbīrē, Persian: دین دبیره, romanized: din dabire) is a writing system developed during Iran's Sasanian era (226–651 CE) to render the Avestan language.

As a side effect of its development, the script was also used for Pazend, a method of writing Middle Persian that was used primarily for Zend commentaries on the texts of the Avesta. In the texts of Zoroastrian tradition, the alphabet is referred to as "the religion's script" (dēn dibīrih in Middle Persian and din dabireh in New Persian).